Oxygen inhalator



April 1962 B. TAYLOR 3,030,064

OXYGEN INHALATOR Filed Oct. 5, 1959 %g PEI-5.1

5 Z5 7 28 E E 2e Z9 20 I9 8 33 20 23 & IMF/JIM 25 42 24 Z2 INVENTOR. 5E2TL721v L0/2 TEA v ate't I 3,030,064 Patented Apr. 17, 1962 3,030,064 OXYGEN INHALATOR Bert L. Taylor, 2142 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 15, Ohio, assignor of sixteen percent to William Franko, sixteen percent to Anthony P. Horvath, and sixteen percent to Anthony A. Horvath, all of Cleveland, Ohio Filed Oct. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 844,490 2 Claims. (Cl. 251127) This invention relates to inhalators and particularly to a portable structure for the emergency administration of oxygen.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an inhalator for the administration of oxygen, that can be attached to any source of oxygen under pressure, either in the form of a portable tank or a permanent installation.

Another object is to provide an oxygen inhalator that can be attached directly to a source of oxygen under high pressure, and is operable without requiring pressure reducing valves, pressure gages, or re-breather bags, such as required by the conventional oxygen mask systems.

Another object is to provide an inhalator whose oxygen flow may be easily regulated by merely flexing the supply hose, the flow being cut off automatically, upon release of the hose.

Another object is to provide a device of the type stated Whose regulating valve requires no close fits between the moving parts, but is held gas tight by the pressure exerted by the oxygen itself.

Still another object is to provide an oxygen inhalator whose elements on the low pressure side are joined through slip-fits so that excessive pressure cannot be built up on the low pressure side to whioh the administrating mask is attached.

Another object is to provide a device of the type stated that can be used to deliver oxygen intermittently, that is two or three breaths at a time, as desired by the user.

A further object is to provide a complete emergency oxygen dispensing unit that is so compact that it can be carried in a brief case or stored in any other small space.

Another object is to provide an oxygen dispenser that is instantly self-operating, without requiring physical adjustments or attention on the part of the user, other than the slight flexing of the supply hose, mentioned hereinabove.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification and claims, together With the accompanying drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the oxygen inhalator that is the subject of this invention, as it appears connected to a twk of oxygen, and ready for use;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the gas flow metering valve showing the needle valve in its closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view through the gas flow metering valve showing the needle valve in a tilted, or open position; and

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view of the gas flow metering valve.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is seen in FIGURE 1 the oxygen inhalato-r, that is the subject of this invention, broadly indicated by reference numeral 10, in its operative condition connected to a tank 11 containing oxygen under 2,000 p.s.i. pressure.

The device comprises essentially 4 elements, namely,

approximately 0.339" diameter, its open end internally tapped with a A" pipe thread.

The dimensions given herein are typical of an operative model intended to deliver 8 liters of oxygen in 22 seconds when fully open. The measurements are not to be considered in a limiting sense, but may be varied proportionately to deliver a greater or lesser volume of oxygen per unit time, to suit difierent conditions.

The end wall 29 of the body 18 is approximately 0.225" thick and has an axial gas metering orifice 21 therethrough whose diameter is 0.087".

The inner face 22 of the end wall 20 is flat, square with the metering orifice 21, and highly polished to define a valve seat.

A circular valve head 24, whose diameter is 0.313", is loosely fitted within the bore 19, with its stem 25, of 0.082 diameter, projecting through and beyond the metering orifice 21, as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3.

The face 42 of the valve head 24 is also flat, highly polished, and square with the stem 25.

An annular washer, or so-called O ring 23, approximately 0.339 in diameter so that it will fit snugly in the bore 19, is positioned on the stem 25 between the valve seat'22 and the head seat 42. This 0 ring is made of a resilient, oxidation resistant material such as neoprene (chloroprene rubber).

Reference numeral 26 indicates a cap threadedly mounted on the body member 18 having a large opening 27 through which the end of the valve stem 25 passes, and defining a muffler cavity in which a series of brass wire screen discs 28 of approximately mesh, separated by resilient 0 rings 29 are mounted. Each of the screens 28 and the 0 rings 29 has a central opening through which the stem 25'passes in a snug fit, as seen in FIG- URES 2 and 3. The cap 26 is tightened against the contained series of screens and 0 rings to form a mufiler or sound silencer for the valve assembly, as well as giving lateral snubbing support to the valve stem 25, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The body member 18 is connected to the high pressure hose 15 through a threaded coupling 17 and a lock ring 16.

Reference numeral 30 indicates a resilient rubber nipple having a central bore 32 therethrough and a sleeve portion 41 that is fitted snugly around the body member assembly, just described, in gas tight engagement. Reference numeral 33 indicates a thickened closure ring, formed integral with the sleeve, which fits snugly against the lock ring 16 of the high pressure hose coupling.

The diameter of the nipple bore 32 is at least twice that of the stem 25 so that oxygen may flow freely around the stem and through the bore. The nipple 30 has an enlarged, ball shaped portion 31 at its free end. When the nipple 30 is mounted on the body 18, the end of the valve stem 28 is held within the bore 32 thereof as seen in FIGURE 2.

As described hereinbefore, the valve head 24 and stem 25 are loosely mounted within the several bores 10, 21 and 32 and through the 0 rings 23, 29 and the screens 28. Thus, the valve head 24 can be easily tilted by flexing the nipple end 31 against the contained valve stem 25, as seen most clearly in FIGURE 3.

The described valve assembly 40 is fitted into the end 35 of the low pressure hose 34 and a face mask 37 of a shape adapted to fit over the nose and mouth of the user is slip-fitted into the upper end 36 of the hose 34. The hose 34 is thin walled with accordion folds so that it may be easily flexed and also expand if more oxygen is being released than is being inhaled by the user.

The mask 37 has an elastic band 38 attached thereto so that the mask may be held against the face by looping the band 38 around the head in cases where the user is not able to hold the mask to his face, or wishes to have his hands free.

Reference numeral 39 indicates a plurality of vent holes in both side faces of the mask 37 which permit atmospheric air to enter the mask and mix with the oxygen supply, thus reducing the amount of oxygen inhaled to that more normal concentration, that can be readily absorbed by the lungs.

The diameter of the ball end 31 of the nipple 30 is such that its spherical surface will just contact the inner wall of the low pressure hose 34 as is seen most clearly in FIGURE 2. 7

In use, the high pressure hose 15 is connected to an oxygen tank 11, such as illustrated in FIGURE 1, by means of a standard threaded coupling 14. It should be understood that the coupling 14 may take the form of any coupling that will engage any I.C.C. approved tank, whether U.S., Canadian or of European type, as well as medically coded tanks containing special mixtures.

In the instant case the tank 11 contains oxygen under 2,000 p.s.i. pressure. The gauge 13 is built into the tank and indicates tank pressure at all times. The valve 12 is a simple closure valve and is not a metering or pressure reducing valve.

- The full tank pressure is admitted to the high pressure hose 15, when the valve 12 is opened.

Immediately upon the build up of pressure in the hose 15, the valve head 24 is pressed against the ring 23 which is compressed axially and expanded radially to effect a gas tight seal between the valve seat 22 and the valve head seat 42. Thus, the valve assembly 40 is selfsealing under pressures of 2,000 p.s.i. or more, and as long as the valve stem 25 is free of intentional tilt, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the gas cannot pass through the metering orifice 21.

After the inhalator is thus readied for use, the mask is placed over the nose and mouth of the user and held in place either by the hand or by the elastic mask strap 38.

To deliver oxygen to the mask at any desired volume up to 8 liters in 22 seconds, with the metering structure described, it is only necessary to apply the fingers to the low pressure hose 34 at the point where the nipple ball 31 is located and press slightly. The resultant fiexion of the nipple 30 causes the end of the valve stem to be tilted, as seen in FIGURE 3, wherein the nipple is shown as being flexed upward of the axis of the stem 28.

This causes the valve head 24 to be tilted away from contact with the O ring 23 thereby permitting oxygen to escape past the valve head face 42, through the center hole of the O ring 23 and through the metering orifice 21 and nipple bore 32, into the low pressure hose 34 and mask 37.

The sound of the gas rushing through the metering orifice 21 is absorbed by the mufller screens 28, making for quieter action. The compression of the series of screens 28 also acts to stiffen or snub the movement of the stem 25 so that it is less sensitive to tilting pressures, thereby insuring that slight movements of the low pressure hose 34 will not cause unintentional opening of the valve.

The use of an O ring gasket 23 is critical to this application since the rounded surfaces of the ring offer no resistance to the flow of gas, but permit the high pressure gases to slip over the surface without ripping the gasket to pieces, as occurs with flat gaskets which present a sharp edge to the gas stream. The high polish of the valve surfaces 22 and 42 provides a true point seal between the surfaces of the O ring and also prevents mechanical abrasion or scoring of the O ring surface even after repeated openings and closings of the valve. This is especially important when operating with high pressure gases since any toughening of the soft gasket surface will lead to quick destruction thereof by the high pressure gas stream.

By varying the pressure against the ball 31, the degree of tilt of the stem 25 can be closely controlled to provide any rate of oxygen flow desired up to the maximum of 8 liters per 22 seconds in the instant case. Removal of the tilting pressure causes the valve head 24 to immediately re-seat, cutting off the flow of oxygen.

The higher the pressure in the tank 11, the more effective is the valve action, so that any pressure that the hose 15 can hold may be used.

Since the low pressure hose 34 and mask 37 are fitted to each other and to the gas metering valve assembly 40 through slip-fits, any accidental build up of pressure on the low pressure side will cause the parts to safely separate to relieve such pressure before it becomes excessive.

The vents 39 in the mask 37 also act as safety features to prevent suffocation if the oxygen supply is cut off without removing the mask from the face, since atmospheric air can enter through the vents as well as be expelled therethrough, when exhaling.

In the ordinary emergency use of the inhalator, continuous flow of oxygen is not necessary or desirable. By the proper fiexion of the low pressure hose 34 at the nipple ball 31, several deep inhalations of oxygen may be taken and then the flow easily cut off by relieving the fiexion until the need for more oxygen is felt.

While the invention has been illustrated in connection with a simple nose and mouth mask, the collar 36 may be attached to any kind of a full face mask such as those that have filters or charcoal canisters, as well as ammonia masks, army gas masks and the like.

Another desirable feature of this oxygen inhalator is that its construction requires no close tolerances between the parts, since the only moving part, the valve head 24 and attached stem 25, must be loosely fitted and free to tilt, for the proper operation of the device.

By varying the diameters of the metering orifice 21 and the valve stem 25, the flow rate of the oxygen can be controlled between wide limits. The tilting pressure required to tilt the valve head 24 against high pressure can be adjusted by varying the length of the stem 25 which has a lever action.

It will now be clear that there is provided a device which accomplishes the objectives heretofore set forth.

While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form, it is to be understood that the specific embodiment thereof as described and illustrated herein is not to be considered in a limited sense as there may be other forms or modifications of the invention which should also be construed to come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A high pressure gas metering and shut-off valve, comprising in combination, a body member having a high pressure gas inlet bore terminating in a fiat valve seat having a high pressure gas inlet bore terminating in a flat valve seat having a gas metering orifice centered therein; a fiat valve head loosely mounted in the inlet bore, including a stem extending through and beyond the metering orifice; an O ring gasket positioned in the inlet bore, between the valve seat and head, with the valve stem extending therethrough; a muffler cap mounted on the body member on the low pressure side of the gas metering orifice, having a large opening in the end wall thereof, a plurality of fine mesh screen discs, spaced apart by resilient rings, mounted in the cap cross-wise of the long axis thereof, and having holes centered therein for the passage of the valve stem therethrough; a flexible nipple mounted on the body capping the muffler cap, the nipple having a central bore therethrough aligned with the metering orifice for receiving the free end of the valve stem therein, the diameter of the nipple here being greater than that of the valve stem; and, an outlet pipe mounted in gas-tight engagement with the nipple, the valve head being normally held, by the gas pressure in the inlet bore, in sealed engagement with the valve seat 0 ring gasket to close the metering orifice against the passage of gas therethrough, the valve stem and attached head being tiltable relative to the valve seat, upon lateral pressure exerted upon the nipple, to unseal the metering orifice for the release of gas therethrough. 5

2. A high pressure gas metering and shut-01f valve of the type defined in claim 1 and further distinguished by the flexible nipple having a rigid ball on the free end thereof, formed integral therewith, Whose diameter is substantially the same as the inside diameter of the outlet 10 plpe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hill Mar. 15, 1887 Cottrell June 28, 1932 Davis Oct. 1, 1935 Tobias Nov. 9, 1948 Vollertzen Mar. 12, 1957 Maroney July 16, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy Aug. 5, 1939 

